City of Stars
by ZachaRicO
Summary: A lonely night in Anistar City turns into an unexpectedly joyful occasion for two young trainers. Advanceshipping; contest entry for Advancers Proboards "Reunion" contest.


The night was quiet. Quieter than he thought.

"If this is a city, why isn't anything happening?"

Normally he'd get a response to his question, be it from his travelling companions or his best friend. However, they were all back at the Pokemon Center asleep. It was late: about 11:30 at night. He would have joined them, but he couldn't. He was restless. The gym leader had made some frightening predictions about his future, mentioning a mysterious power that he and his Pokemon would discover together and an unprecedented threat to the region of Kalos. While he would be lying if he said he wasn't eager to learn about this new power she spoke of and use it to defeat this upcoming threat, something deep inside him made him feel extremely uneasy about it all.

And so here was 16-year-old Ash Ketchum, walking the streets of Anistar City, searching for some sort of peace. His walk, unfortunately, proved futile, as he was still just as restless as when he left the Center. Deciding to pause a moment, he sat down under a shadow and exhaled. He wondered if the gym leader knew anything else. Would this power be too much for him and his Pokemon to handle? Would it consume them? Was _it_ the unprecedented threat that Kalos would face?

He shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts. _Don't be silly, Ash_ he told himself. _Don't overthink this. Everything happens for a reason._

He stood up and put his hands in his pockets, planning to go walking again. No sooner had he taken one step, however, than he felt something familiar in his right pocket. His eyes widened, and he shuffled through his pocket, pulling out a familiar trinket: a half of a ribbon shaped like the sun. He looked up and held it to the moonlight, hoping it would bring him some consolation. Instead, it left him feeling empty, knowing that the ribbon's other half was somewhere else. With a heavy sigh, he put his ribbon half in his pocket and turned away. His gaze was downward as he walked along. He was just thinking about going back to the Center to try and go back to sleep when he collided with another body.

"Ah!" he exclaimed and began rapid-firing apologies as usual, as did she. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there, please excuse me –"

"Ash?"

His eyes widened. "May?"

Ash had bumped into a 16-year-old brunette with deep, sapphire eyes. She wore a red and black tank-top, as well as white and black shorts. However, her brown, v-shaped hair and red bow in her hair made her unmistakable to her boyfriend of nearly a year.

"Ash!" May Maple cried in elation, throwing her arms around him. Initially taken aback, Ash quickly enfolded her in his arms as well and lifted her off the ground, laughing and spinning as he did so. May laughed as well, the feeling of spinning around in his arms exhilarating. When they were on their feet again, she tightened her grip on him, as he did on her. "I can't believe you're here," she said softly.

"I could say the same for you," he said, then they separated. "I thought you'd be in Sinnoh right now eating ramen to your heart's content in a packed restaurant!"

She laughed at that. "Well, if you can believe it," she said, "the last thing I did before I came out here was eat at a restaurant."

"Really?" Ash exclaimed. They laughed together at this seemingly silly detail.

"Yeah," she said after they suppressed their chuckles and started walking along back the way Ash originally came. "It was pretty packed in there."

"Were you with anyone?" he asked.

She slyly winked at him. "What, you jealous or something?"

He smirked at her knowingly. "Now why would I be jealous?" he asked, nudging her lightly with his elbow. She laughed and pushed him back slightly harder with her hand. He joined in her laughter as the feeling of her hand on his shoulder again made the blood rush to his face.

"Anyway, to answer your question," she said as they suppressed their chuckles once again, "no, I wasn't with anyone." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye to see if he had any reaction. When he didn't, she went on. "And that's why I came here. I realized that night how lonely I felt journeying through Sinnoh by myself, and that was why my contests hadn't been going so well, so I sailed out here to take a break from competing." She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked. "I certainly wasn't expecting to run into you here, though."

"Well, I'm glad we found each other," he said with a smile as they came back to the place where he'd sat down earlier.

May gasped. "That's the Sundial!"

"Huh?" he blinked.

"Look up!"

He looked up and realized that, in his melancholy mood earlier, he hadn't noticed that he'd sat right underneath the Anistar City Sundial. It glowed faintly with a pink light, a detail he somehow missed earlier.

"Wow," May said softly. "This thing is beautiful. The way it glows seems so romantic...if only we had some music to dance to."

At that, Ash smiled softly and took her hand in his. Then, to her surprise and delight, he twirled her around two times so that she stopped right in front of him as they both faced the Sundial. She laughed brightly and joyfully as he did so. Then he gracefully leaned back, and she leaned with him. They stood up, and May turned to look at him with a bright smile.

At that, Ash's heart melted. Her deep blue eyes shone brightly in the night, causing the moonlight to shrink back in shame. As she looked into his eyes, meanwhile, she watched as they shone brightly, much like the sun, dispelling the night's gloom. Together, their eyes created a masterpiece so beautiful, so amazing, that the world could not contain it.

Without another thought, Ash put his arms around May once again in a tender, loving embrace. She smiled and reciprocated, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Did I mention how glad I am to run into you here?" she asked.

"No," he replied, "but I think I figured it out."

She giggled and tightened her grip on him. "You know, I know it sounds cliche, but I suddenly don't feel lonely anymore. I actually feel like everything's gonna be all right."

Ash chuckled softly and tightened his grip on her as well. "Maybe it is cliche," he admitted, "but I feel the same way. I don't know what the future holds for me, or where it will take me, but really, I don't need to know." He pulled out of their embrace slightly so he could look at her, though he kept his arms around her waist while she kept hers on his shoulders. "All I need is the knowledge that no matter what happens, you and I will stay together." He pulled her back into their embrace and felt her heart pounding on his chest.

"If only we could stay together forever," she sighed.

He pulled out of their embrace a bit again to look at her with a smile. "One day we'll be able to," he said. Then he leaned forward and connected his lips to hers. The two of them shared a brief kiss that was at once tender, passionate, and sincere. As they pulled apart, the Sundial glowed a little brighter. They looked up, surprised for a moment, then smiled.

"Is it shining just for us?" May asked.

"Maybe it is," Ash replied. He turned to her. "Maybe it's shining just for us."

She smiled and leaned into him. "Well it never shines as brightly as we do."

Ash chuckled and kissed her cheek. "No, May. No it doesn't."

* * *

 **In case it's not obvious, this is inspired by the song "City of Stars" from _La La Land_. What do you think? Feel free to rate and review, but no flames please!**


End file.
